


Heart & Home

by woefulcas



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Domestic Fluff, M/M, Post-Canon Fix-It, dean and cas buy a house together and fix it up, ignoring canon bc s15 can choke, rating reflects later chapters and language
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:07:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28227378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/woefulcas/pseuds/woefulcas
Summary: Some time after Dean rescues Cas from the Empty, the two leave the bunker in Sam and Eileen’s hands and retire to Vermont where they work on fixing up an old farmhouse and building a life together.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 87
Kudos: 180





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I want to give a big thank you to Sam (quiettewandering/wanderingcas) for being my beta, as well as Carrie, Mara, Britt and Caitlyn for their support and for pushing me to write this even though I doubt myself constantly. You all mean a lot to me and ily.

It’s been a little over four months.

Four months since defeating Chuck. Three months since Jack used his newfound powers to open a rift to the Empty and they went toe-to-toe with yet another being older than time itself. Dean remembers the feeling of the Empty quaking, screaming out in pain, as Jack used his newfound, god-like strength to hold it back while Dean searched for Cas.

Dean remembers the weight falling from his shoulders as he climbed through the rift with his arms wrapped around Cas, pulling him out of the Empty and back into their lives. Into his life.

He remembers feeling confused by the look of relief on Cas’s face when he told Cas they couldn’t leave with his grace.

He remembers telling Cas that he loved him in the early morning hours while Cas was sitting on the edge of his bed in a borrowed t-shirt, pulling at a thread in Dean’s flannel pajama pants that Cas insisted on wearing.

He remembers Cas gripping at his shirt, pulling him close and kissing Dean in the dim light of his bedroom.

He doesn’t, however, remember exactly when they both felt the itch to find their own place. 

Dean thinks maybe it was when Sam and Eileen started picking up hunts again, long after Jack had gone back to Heaven. While both he and Cas kept themselves busy around the bunker, everything seemed too quiet, too big. The bunker had once felt like home; a home that Dean had been grateful to have after so many years of living in a slew of rundown motels and in his car. But it didn’t really feel the same now. Not with everything they’d been through.

The night they sat Sam and Eileen down and told them about their plan, showed them the house that he and Cas had found through Zillow, didn’t go as well as Dean would have hoped. The conversation had started awkwardly then slowly devolved into a heated argument. Both Dean and Sam yelled, Dean knocked a mug off the table, and it had eventually led to both Cas and Eileen coming between the two brothers. But in the end, with his head hung low and tears in his eyes, Sam had understood. He understood why Dean wanted this, why he wanted to have this chance to start his own life with Cas.

Sam wanted a chance to start his own life with Eileen as well, but had hoped nothing would have to change. He had hoped that they could all continue on hunting and keep everyone under the same roof. Dean wanted to be close to his brother, but hunting wasn’t really what he wanted right now and he and Cas needed a change. They wouldn’t be under the same roof, it would be a twenty-plus-hours drive but they could visit and video chatting exists Sam, Dean had reminded him. By the end of the night, the conversation had ended with hugs, questions about the house, and a few more tears.

Dean knew it wouldn’t be easy, leaving the bunker and ultimately Sam - they’d spent the majority of their lives living basically on top of each other - but he had Eileen and they needed their own space too. They needed a chance to find their own rhythm together. While Dean had his doubts, when they pulled up to the old house and saw the way Cas’s eyes lit up, he knew that they had made the right call.

Cas climbed out first, their boots crunching in the snow as they walked toward the house.

“Did you think we’d ever make it here?” Dean asked.

“To Vermont? Yes, actually. The estimated arrival time on your phone was quite -“

Dean rolls his eyes, interrupting him by gently bumping Cas’s shoulder with his own.

“The snark this early in the morning is getting old, babe. Here as in... hanging up our boots. You know, alive. Whole. The ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ schtick.”

“We’re not dead, Dean. Retirement isn’t the end of your life. You said it yourself that we might still pick up a few easy hunts from time to time. But no, I didn’t really see myself here with you, though I’m extremely happy to be here by your side.” He clears his throat, meeting Dean’s eyes, “To have this. With you.”

Dean gives Cas a dopey smile and drapes an arm across Cas’s shoulder as he takes in the sight before them. The farmhouse needs work - boards are missing from the front porch, a few windows are cracked or shattered, and hell if it doesn’t look like Dean should take a crowbar out of Baby’s trunk before they go inside. Many would shy away from taking on this project, but Dean saw the potential and knew that the two of them could bring this place back to life. It would be a lot of work, but it was everything Dean’s ever wanted. A place to make his own - to make their own. It may not be much right now, but it’s theirs and they’ll get to make it into a home.

Cas takes a deep breath, shuffling closer to Dean, though it hardly seems possible with how closely they're standing together, “We should call Sam and Eileen, tell them we made it. I’m sure they’re waiting to hear from us.”

Dean smiles and turns his head towards Cas, pressing a light kiss to the corner of his mouth, “In a minute. I just wanna take this all in.”

After they spend a few moments in the quiet, watching the snow flurries fall and looking toward the next step in their life together, Cas pulls away from Dean’s side and walks back to the Impala. Dean raises an eyebrow when he stops to pop open the trunk. Dean looks confused when instead of the first of their bags, Cas pulls out his old coat and brings the bundle of fabric to him. Dean unrolls the rumpled coat, revealing a gift - a tool belt.

“We’ve got work to do, Dean,” Cas says, a playful grin on his face, his eyes shining bright.

Dean shakes his head and laughs. “Yeah, yeah, let’s get to work. You gonna carry me over the threshold first though?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “We’re both going to fit on that?” Cas asks, giving the slowly rising mattress a questioning look. 
> 
> “Haven’t used this thing in years.” Dean shrugs, sitting on the edge of the mattress and bouncing slightly. “Sam said it fits two.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to Sam (quiettewandering/wanderingcas) for being my beta - this update would not have happened on schedule without her.  
> I’ll hopefully have another chapter for all of you next week. Thank you for all of your kind comments here and on tumblr - I wouldn’t have bothered to keep writing this if it wasn’t for all of you! Please feel free to send me an ask on tumblr if you want.

Following Cas’s attempt at carrying Dean over the threshold, which ended in both of them laughing and Cas nearly knocking Dean’s head into the trim, the two make a few trips bringing in their bags from the Impala. They pile them all in the entryway before Dean makes one final trip to grab his tools and some sheets of plastic for the broken windows.

Cas shuffles his feet by the doorway, watching quietly as Dean moves to dig through the pile of bags in search of his tool belt. He can feel Cas’s eyes on his back as he stands, moving to hold the toolbelt against his waist. Cas seems almost in a fog, whether it’s from the ride or the overwhelming feeling of this being real he’s not sure - Dean’s felt himself worrying that he’s stuck in a basement somewhere under a djinn’s spell every time he looks at Cas, seeing him by his side, standing in their home. 

Dean coughs, breaking Cas out of his daze. 

“Little help over here, Cas?” Dean asks, looking over his shoulder and gesturing to the straps hanging loosely in his hands behind his back. 

Cas shakes his head, moving to stand behind Dean and taking the straps of his tool belt in his hands, “You’re fully capable of doing this yourself, Dean.”

Dean smiles. “Sue me for wanting to get your hands on me. We haven’t had this much time alone together in… well, forever, shit.”

“You're insufferable.” Cas quips, affection behind it.

“You love me.” 

Cas smiles and presses a quick kiss to the back of Dean’s neck as he finishes tying the loops in place. “I do.” He playfully taps Dean on the ass and walks towards the room just off the main entryway. “What’s first?” 

Dean follows him into the room, walking over to the fireplace and looking up into the inner hearth. “We should probably get a fire going, then maybe we can tackle getting plastic over the broken window upstairs and the one in the kitchen?”

“The inspector said it was good to go?” Cas asked, picking up a few pieces of wood from the bundle they’d brought in earlier with their bags. 

“Yeah, everything came back fine, surprisingly,” Dean took the first few pieces from Cas, arranging them in the hearth, “this place actually wasn’t in as bad of shape as we thought.”

Two weeks ago both he and Cas had made the trip in to get their keys from the listing agent and get the inspection done. Dean thankfully had the foresight to get the electric turned on and Cas had taken on the burden of finishing things up at the bank and making sure their forged documents all checked out. They even set up a damn checking account for god's sake. For two people considered legally dead it had been surprisingly easy with Eileen’s help, as well as Charlie’s faithful no-limit credit card, to get everything set up. 

Dean strikes a match and throws it into the hearth, then looks back at Cas. “We’ll probably have to pop back down here every so often to keep it going but do you wanna tackle the windows? We should probably get the plastic up sooner than later.”

“Yes, I think that’s for the best,” Cas frowns, looking down at his phone before he continues, “it’s supposed to keep snowing through the night.” 

“Windows first then,” Dean says, his knees slightly cracking as he stands. “Let’s go scope out the damage.”

****

Cas offers to take the heavy sheets of plastic to the second floor of the house, while Dean opts for shoving the painter's tape in his back pocket before hefting a broom and bucket of cleaning supplies up the stairs. As they head into the master bedroom, the boards creaking as they drop their supplies, they’re greeted by a snowy windowsill and the whistling of the cold winter winds blowing in. Dean sighs, setting the bucket down in front of the window while Cas unrolls a sheet of plastic. Dean works on sweeping up the glass beneath the window and Cas busies himself by cutting a section of plastic to cover the broken window. 

After getting the glass cleaned up and dusting the small pile of snow off the windowsill, Cas hands Dean the plastic and he fits it over the window, covering the shattered glass. 

Before Dean can ask for the tape, he feels a hand in his back pocket and a blush creeps up the back of his neck. “Feelin’ a little handsy today, Cas?”

“You were the one who put it there,” Cas says, feigning innocence as he tears off several pieces of tape. “And you were also the one who said it’s been quite some time since we’ve had this much time alone together.” 

Dean grins, plucking the tape from Cas’s hands, “We got all the time in the world now.” He makes quick work of taping up the plastic over the window as Cas moves onto sweeping up the bedroom, clearing away who knows how many decades of dust and cobwebs. After they’ve finished cleaning the room, they move onto each room of the upstairs, making quick work of sweeping up the rooms and making notes of repairs along the way. 

“We’ll have to pick up quite a few things tomorrow,” Cas says, looking over the list he’d made on his phone. “I know we thought we’d have to do something with the floors but… they’re in surprisingly good shape.”

Dean nods, wiping his hands off with a rag as he emerges from the bathroom. “We gotta’ get a bigger tub. That one’s got a crack straight through and there’s no way in hell we’re both fitting in that thing.”

Cas laughs, the sound bringing a smile to Dean’s face. He can’t remember smiling this much in his life as he has since they signed the papers. “We’ll have to decide what floor we want to work on first. We should start up here, don’t you think?”

Dean hums in agreement. “Yeah, I’d say we get this floor done first, seems like less to do up here. Wanna’ get that window done in the hall and then head down to get that busted out one in the kitchen?” 

They get the remaining windows done quickly after getting the rhythm down, and after finishing the two head back downstairs to the living room. Cas checks the fire, adding a few logs in, while Dean unrolls their temporary bed - an air mattress. Dean rolls out an old blanket they’d brought along and lays it down on the floor in front of the fireplace before positioning the air mattress on it. After making sure the fire is well stocked, Cas starts unpacking some clothes from their bags for the night, watching as Dean gets the air pump going and the mattress begins to inflate with a light buzzing sound.

“We’re both going to fit on that?” Cas asks, giving the slowly rising mattress a questioning look. 

“Haven’t used this thing in years.” Dean shrugs, sitting on the edge of the mattress and bouncing slightly. “Sam said it fits two.”

Still feeling a bit skeptical, but trusting Dean’s reassurance, Cas gets up and grabs their two sleeping bags from the hall. They unzip the two completely, laying the first down to cover the mattress and then the second as their blanket. With their makeshift bed assembled for the night, they start cleaning the main floor. They sweep and dust every room, and even find a questionable fuzzy pile of something in a back closet. As the hours pass, Cas’s list of repairs and changes grows, but despite the age of the home and being abandoned for nearly a year, it’s in pretty good shape. there’s plenty of cosmetic fixes that need to be done but they have all the time in the world to pick at each project. 

As they’re finishing up cleaning the kitchen and pantry, Dean’s stomach begins to growl, breaking the comfortable silence that had settled between them as they worked. He shakes his head, looking over at Cas kneeling on the floor trying to clear out the absurdly large dust bunnies that had taken over the pantry floor. 

Dean walks over to Cas, gently placing a hand between Cas’s shoulder blades. “Wanna’ break for the night and see what the takeout situation is around here?” 

Cas looks back at Dean, offering him a small smile. “Should we try the small Chinese restaurant we saw in town?”

“Sounds good to me.” Dean offers Cas a hand, helping him up off the floor. “I’m gonna’ need a new oven in here if I’m ever gonna stand a chance at teaching you to bake.” 

Cas doesn’t let go of Dean’s hand and instead intertwines their fingers, his expression soft. “You just want me to bake you a pie without burning the house down.”

Dean rolls his eyes. “You’re gonna have to let my hand go so I can call in the food, Romeo,” he teases, a faint pink color spreading across his cheeks. 

****

After cleaning off the Impala with a new snow brush, purchased at Cas’s suggestion at some gas station on their way through New York, Dean makes the fifteen minute drive into the snow to pick up their food. Dean returns to find Cas sitting in front of his laptop, typing away and squinting at the screen. Dean smirks, walking up behind Cas and leaning down to press a kiss to the top of his head, effectively catching him off guard and nearly making Cas knock over his laptop that had been precariously stacked on his duffle bag. 

Cas shakes his head before looking up at Dean. “If you make me break my laptop, I’m not sharing any wontons with you,” Cas says, fixing Dean with a glare even though his words don’t hold any real heat. 

“You wouldn’t dare.”

Cas presses a quick kiss to Dean’s lips, “That remains to be seen.” He plucks the brown paper bag from Dean’s hands and begins to unpack their dinner. 

The two sit on the floor in front of the fire as they eat, cross-legged, their knees touching every so often when Dean sneaks his chopsticks into Cas’s container of lo mein to steal a bite or two. After they finish eating Dean props Cas’s laptop back up and they call Sam and Eileen over Skype. Eileen asks about the drive in, about how many souvenirs Cas nearly purchased and what ones made the cut. They talk about a quick salt and burn she and Sam had taken a few towns over. Sam complains about the graveyard dirt that he can’t seem to get out of his hair, which results in Dean pleading with Eileen to please make him cut it already. Sam rolls his eyes and steers the conversation to the house. 

They talk for nearly an hour before Sam and Eileen notice Dean starting to nod off, his head dropping to Cas shoulder, and they say their goodbyes for the night. Cas closes the laptop and starts clearing away their trash from dinner, noticing that Dean seems distracted. He heads into the kitchen, leaving Dean to quietly check his phone. After discarding the garbage and checking the plastic over the broken kitchen window, Cas returns to the living room where he finds Dean restocking the fire, still noticeably quiet. 

“Dean?” Cas asks, placing a hand on his shoulder. 

Dean rubs his eyes with the back of his hand and gives Cas a tired smile, “Just tired. You wanna’ hit the hay?”

Cas frowns slightly, not wanting to push, and nods. “It’s been a long day.”

“I’ll lock up,” Dean stands then heads out into the hallway.

Cas sighs and busies himself by changing into a pair of old sweatpants and one of Dean’s t-shirts then retrieves two pillows from their pile of bags. He throws the pillows onto their temporary bed with a groan, remembering just how comfortable their bed at the bunker was and mentally makes a note to convince Dean to go mattress shopping sooner than later. When Dean wanders back into the room, he doesn’t seem to notice the glare Cas is giving to their bed and instead, wordlessly digs for his toiletry bag, as well as his own pair of sweats and a thermal from his duffle. 

Dean tosses Cas’s bag to him, which Cas catches easily, and moves to leave the room again but pauses in the doorway. “Forgot to pack your own shirts?” Dean teases, clearly trying to break the air of awkwardness that had settled between them after their call with Sam and Eileen. 

“I find wearing your clothing comforting.” He walks over to Dean, leaning in close. “Don’t act like you don’t like it, Dean.” 

Cas heads off to the bathroom, leaving Dean in the hallway with a blush creeping up the back of his neck. After a steadying breath and a shake of his head, Dean pinches the bridge of his nose and follows after Cas.

****

The air mattress proves to be just as uncomfortable as suspected. 

Dean huffs, rolling over to face Cas as pulls the sleeping bag more tightly around them. Cas mumbles, half asleep, and drapes his arm loosely over Dean’s hip, pulling him close. 

He kisses Dean’s forehead. “You’re restless,” Cas remarks, a yawn spilling out. “What’s wrong?”

“Sam lied. Big enough for two my ass.”

“Dean.”

Dean sighs, tucking his chin over Cas shoulder. “It’s just,” Dean takes a deep breath and continues, “I’m glad we’re here. I’m - I’m so fucking happy to be here with you and to have this and I - it’s just gonna take me a bit to wrap my head around this being real.”

“It’s hard for me to believe as well,” Cas offers, running a hand down Dean’s back. “But it is real, Dean.”

“Yeah, yeah it is.” Dean says, barely above a whisper. He pulls back and presses a kiss to Cas’s lips. “And we’re going mattress shopping tomorrow, this is gonna be hell on my back.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas puts the swatches down and walks over to the fridge. “We’ve stopped the apocalypse half a dozen times, I’m sure we can settle on a color for our bedroom.” He grabs each of them a beer, handing one to Dean before he continues. “There was that lovely soft green shade,” he says, giving Dean a smile.

At nearly four weeks into the renovation, Dean thinks the house is finally starting to take shape.

They fumbled their way through tackling the wood floors, bringing the original white oak panels from dull and unfinished to rich and dark. It had been a learning curve for both of them - a combination of various YouTube tutorials and each of them taking a few workshops at their local Lowe’s. It had taken more time than they’d hoped and Cas still finds himself glaring at one section in the hallway where the sealer doesn’t seem to take as nicely as the rest. Dean doesn’t see a difference but it doesn’t stop him from teasing Cas about it when they come in the front door from time to time.

Riding on that boost of confidence from completing the floors, they even managed to change out the drywall in their master bathroom. They made quick work of patching the other panels throughout the house, as well as replacing another that had water damage in what they hoped would become a guest room for Sam and Eileen, or maybe Claire and Kaia. Hell, anyone in their makeshift family would be welcome if they made the trek. They even found the time to change out the tub in their bathroom for a large clawfoot tub that Cas had insisted on the same day they picked out their new mattress weeks ago.

All in all, the house is slowly starting to feel lighter, warmer; more like a home. 

Cas discovered a love of refinishing furniture, using the skills he picked up from their time doing the floors to breathe new life into each piece of furniture they’ve thrifted down in town or found left out for free on back roads. One morning, far too early for Dean’s liking, he woke up to find Cas’s side of the bed cold and empty. When Dean went looking, he found Cas sitting in the living room, hair askew, sanding down and painting an old coffee table. Dean tried to coax him back to bed, pressing kisses along Cas’s neck and all but whining, but then Cas had explained that it helped him clear his head when his dreams grew dark and silent, an all too haunting reminder of his time spent in the Empty. Dean understood, kissed the top of Cas’s head, and brought him a cup of coffee before joining him on the floor.

Cas has a look of understanding on his face when he finds Dean building a headboard at six in the morning a week later. Cas doesn’t say a word, instead opting to make them both coffee and read a tattered book while Dean works. 

After the progress of the last few weeks, they’ve finally hit a wall.

No amount of diy vlogs, helpful Lowe’s employees or dumb luck, could solve their latest problem, brought on by finishing up the drywall - picking out paint colors. 

They spent an hour earlier that day collecting swatches at the store and Dean was now deeply regretting bringing home so many different options. 

“Cas, we’ve been looking at these swatches for hours.” Dean picks up another paint strip of gray hues and sets it down on the counter amidst the sea of other nearly identical shades. “I really think we just need to pick up some samples and slap them on the wall to see what we like because I’m not seeing a difference between _comfort gray_ and _coventry gray._ ” He runs a hand through his hair, sighing. “Is there… even a difference?”

Cas squints at the two strips, holding them side by side. “Allegedly one is a warm toned gray and the other cold, however I’m beginning to think we should just do the matte _eggshell_ the individual at the paint counter suggested.”

“You mean _white_ , Cas. _Eggshell_ is literally just... white.” Dean turns around, exasperated, leaning his back against the counter and crossing his arms.

Cas puts the swatches down and walks over to the fridge. “We’ve stopped the apocalypse half a dozen times, I’m sure we can settle on a color for our bedroom.” He grabs each of them a beer, handing one to Dean before he continues. “There was that lovely soft green shade,” he says, giving Dean a smile. 

“If I say yes to the _sea salt_ you have to agree to pick the rest of the colors without me,” Dean groans. “If I have to look at another one of these paint strips I’m gonna’ lose my mind.”

“I have a proposition for you then,” Cas says, moving to stand in front of Dean and placing his hands on the counter, his arms bracketing Dean against the counter. “If you help me pick out at least two colors, one for the bedroom and one for the rest of the house, we take a break for the weekend and do a Swayze movie marathon.”

Dean takes a moment, considering. “Can we start with _Road House_?”

Cas nods. “Of course. Although I was hoping you’d show me a few moves from _Dirty Dancing_ beforehand.”

“Deal.” Dean smiles, kissing Cas before reaching behind him for more swatch options. 

****

It’s barely after 9:30 at night but Dean’s snoring lightly, his head resting in Cas’s lap, when the credits finally start to roll in Ghost. Cas lets him rest for a little while longer and hums while carding his fingers through Dean’s hair. A few minutes later, Cas’s phone buzzes in his pocket, causing Dean to grumble in his sleep and roll on his side. He carefully maneuvers Dean, slowly pulling his phone from his pocket. When he checks the screen, he’s instantly greeted by a string of short messsages from Claire, asking about the right weapon to use to take down a pair of vetala.

“Must be working a case with Kaia,” he quietly muses to himself. Cas frowns, his mind quickly running through the options most readily available. 

_Use a silver blade,_ he types. _Aim for the heart when you have them down and twist the blade once. It’s messy but the most effective option. Be safe._

No less than twenty seconds after he replies, Claire shoots back a quick _thank you, will do._ The lack of an eye roll emoji is not lost on Cas and he smiles fondly at the screen.

He reads an ebook on his phone for a short time before finally deciding it would be best to get Dean to their actual bed before his legs fall asleep. Cas tries gingerly shaking Dean’s shoulder, only to be met by a hand slapping at his and Dean rolling over again. 

“Dean, we did not buy the quote un quote rolls royce of mattresses for you to sleep on this lumpy couch.” Cas frowns, shaking Dean again.

Dean sighs and sits up, his hair a mess. He pouts at Cas, which nearly makes Cas burst out laughing. “Can’t believe I conked out and missed the pottery scene,” Dean says. “You tired me out with the paint samples, sweetheart.”

Dean stands, stretching his back and helping Cas up, his legs half asleep from Dean using them as a pillow for the last hour and a half. 

“I promise that tomorrow I’ll go easy on you with trim color options,” Cas says. “It’s either eggshell or cream.” The impish grin on Cas face makes Dean groan. 

“You and the _eggshell_ , man.”

Cas shakes his head, leading Dean to the stairwell. “Sleep first, you can sass me about paint choices tomorrow.” 

Dean yawns, happy to be lead upstairs. 

****

When they reach the bedroom, Dean sits on the edge of their bed as Cas shuts off the lights. Cas walks through the dark to Dean who pulls him in close, his legs bracketing Cas’s as Dean rests his hands on Cas’s hips. “You wanna’ finish the Swayze marathon tomorrow?” he asks.

Cas nods, leaning down and kissing Dean softly. “Of course, Dean.”

“We didn’t even get to-“ Before Dean can finish his sentence, Cas lightly pushes him back onto the bed, the sudden movement throwing Dean off. 

“Thought you said sleep,” Dean says, a grin on his face as he stares up at Cas

“We are going to sleep.” Cas kisses him again, just as softly as before. “I was just speeding up the process.” Cas pulls back the covers on his side of the bed, watching as Dean awkwardly shuffles back on the bed to the same. 

Cas climbs into bed and curls up against Dean’s back, wrapping an arm around Dean’s middle. Dean shifts, pressing his back more closely to Cas and turns his head back, awkwardly angling for a kiss. Cas meets him halfway, lightly kissing Dean before tucking his nose against Dean’s neck. 

“Goodnight, Dean,” Cas says, his breath warm against Dean’s neck, tickling slightly. 

Dean yawns, placing a hand over Cas’s hand resting on his stomach. “‘Night, Cas.” He pauses, the next few words spoken so quietly Cas nearly misses them. “Love you.” 

Cas smiles, warmth spreading across his cheeks. “I love you too.”

“We’re not gonna loop on this like some lovesick teens - sleep,” Dean teases, forgetting that he said it first this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took a little longer than planned to post and that it’s a shorter chapter than the last, life has been you know, life. i hope you’re all doing well and i will do my best to update the next chapter as soon as i can. thank you for all the kind words, patience, and support. 🖤


End file.
